


Jumpstart My Heart

by unoriginalzutara



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:08:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28440660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unoriginalzutara/pseuds/unoriginalzutara
Summary: Katara's car needs a jumpstart as she's trying to head home from a New Year's Eve party. She gets help from a good Samaritan, kindling a friendship that blossoms into a romance.
Relationships: Aang/Toph Beifong, Jet/Katara (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	Jumpstart My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by the short comic "A Zutara New Year" on DeviantArt by Szikee. You can check it out here: https://www.deviantart.com/szikee/art/A-Zutara-New-Year-pt-1-276763595
> 
> I wanted to show how their relationship blossoms over the course of a year. I am thinking a chapter a month, to complete a whole year, but there might be extra chapters here and there.

The New England winter blessed its residents with a beautiful snow for Christmas and again on New Year's Eve. The little puffs of cotton-like snow swirled around Katara's face with ease as she left the club early. Her friends, Suki and Haru, waved at her from the club's doors, inadvertently blocking some patrons as they tried to walk back in after having a smoke a few minutes before midnight.

"You sure you don't wanna stay for the countdown?" Haru asked, an arm strewn over Suki's shoulders to help protect her from the cold. The three had initially promised each other to stay until their feet gave out, or the club employees tossed them out, but Katara was just not feeling it after Jet had failed to call or even text her back when she had asked him to join her at her grandmother's party. She had wanted him to finally meet her dad and grandma after a couple of months of dating.

Katara's cheeks were already reddening from the sharp, cold air. She shook her head and smiled at her friends. "I'll catch it at my house," she hollered back as she kept walking backward toward her car, which was a few blocks away. "Plus, I think gran-gran might need help with all her guests. Good night!"

She motioned for her friends to head back inside, especially before Suki got frostbite. The walk was short, about two minutes, but she was more cautious with each step to avoid a fall on the slippery ice and snow. She smiled to herself as she turned the corner and continued toward where she parked her car.

As quickly as Katara got in, she tried to turn the car on and heard the clacking of the engine trying to start without the power of a full battery. She looked up and groaned as she saw her dimmed headlights.

"My lights, ah crap!" She hit her head against the steering wheel a couple of times. She went in for what would have been a third time when she heard a soft tapping on the window.

"Hey, do you need some help?"

Katara looked up to see a guy around her age with a concerned smile. He was pulling down his hood so she could get a better look at his face, probably so as not to scare her. She realized she had seen him inside the university library a few times when she was studying. The scar over his left eye was something she could never forget.

The guy's golden eyes danced as they shifted between her eyes and took in her features. She smiled up at him and slowly rolled down her window just a tad, thanking the gods her car was still old enough to have hand-crank windows. He breathed a small sigh of relief that she didn't seem scared by his offer to help, nor the burn scar that marred his left eye.

"Thank you," Katara continued smiling at him. "I left my lights on. I'll probably just call my dad."

The young man's smile faltered a little, but knowing how cold it was outside, he shook his head. "Don't worry about it. That's actually my car right there." He pointed to the Mercedes in front of her. "I'll grab my jumper cables."

"Oh," she bit her lip, a little embarrassed of brushing him off so quickly when it seemed he really did just want to help. With a nod, she thanked him again as she popped her hood.

The guy turned his car on and quickly maneuvered it around so that the hoods were facing each other. He opened her hood with ease and quietly got to work on connecting the jumper cables.

"Were you at the Dancing Dragon for their big celebration?" She asked, cutting into the silence of the snowfall.

"Yeah," He walked around so she could see him since her hood still blocked her. "You?

"Yeah," she responded. "You leaving early, too?"

"Admittedly, yes," he answered. "It's just not really my scene." He turned back to his work and finished connecting the cables. "Alright. Go ahead and start your car."

Katara turned the key and smiled as her car roared to life. She revved the engine a little for good measure but shook her head in embarrassment as she wondered if that actually did anything to help the situation.

She got out of the car, leaving it on behind her so the heater could do its thing. "Thank you so much," she beamed at the young man.

"Anytime … so, uh," he ruffled the hair at the back of his head. "Why are _you_ leaving the festivities early?"

"Ah, same as you, I guess." She looked down for a moment before meeting his gaze again. "Oh, I'm Katara." She held out her hand.

"Zuko." He took her mitten-clad hand in his gloved one and smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Katara."

The two held each other's gazes until Zuko's watch beeped with an alert. He took his hand back and looked at the time. "We have about a minute till midnight. It's a shame you don't have enough time to go back to the club for the countdown."

"Nah, it's cool," she held her arms under her chest. "I already threw out my ticket, anyway. Her phone began ringing and buzzing in her coat pocket. "I'm sorry. One second."

"Not at all," Zuko put his hands in his pockets. "Go ahead."

Katara picked up her phone and stayed in front of Zuko as she answered her phone before shifting her gaze away. "Hello?"

 _"Hey, babe!"_ It was Jet. Katara could hear the bustling of a party in the background. Her smile disappeared.

"Hey," she replied lamely. "Wow, it's so loud in here!" Jet practically screamed into the receiver to make sure Katara could hear him over the noise of the party he was at. He took a sip of his beer as he continued grinding on some girl who had asked him to dance just before the countdown. _"I was just calling to say — woah — that umm — what the hell are you doing? Hahaha — umm, that I love you and happy New Year."_

"Thanks, Jet. Happy New Year," Katara failed to hide her annoyance as she returned the well wish.

 _"Hey, listen umm — wait! Someone get her another drink! I think she needs another one. Hahaha — umm — haha. I know! Look at her — sorry, hun. Umm, I can't make it to your grandma's party tonight. I'm stranded here. Hahn left, and he was my ride. I'm sorry."_

Katara could tell he wasn't sorry, and judging the fact that he was slurring his words and laughing it up about some other girl, she and her grandma's party were the last things on his mind. "Oh … well … that's okay."

_"I'll call you tomorrow, babe, alright?"_

"Okay. Bye …" The phone beeped, signaling the end of the call before Katara even finished the farewell. She was kind of glad that she didn't get a chance to say she loved him. It would have been a lie, and she doesn't like lying.

"Everything okay?" Zuko asked sympathetically.

Katara shoved her phone back into her pocket and looked up at him, not even trying to hide the hurt and anger she felt toward her so-called boyfriend. "Yeah, it's fine," she scoffed at how sarcastic she ended up sounding. "I bet you could hear him, huh?"

Zuko nodded once. "Is he your boyfriend?" His tone calm, almost uncaring. On the inside, he wanted to tear the guy apart for taking such a beautiful smile away from his gaze.

"Something like that," she replied. She motioned at Zuko's watch, which had the countdown going. "How many seconds?"

He pulled his wrist up and checked. "Four, three …"

She joined him in the countdown.

 **"Two, one. Happy New Year."** They both smiled warmly at each other.

"For the record, he's missing out."

"On what?" She bit her lip.

"You," Zuko nearly whispered. "Spending New Years with you," he said more clearly.

She looked down at her hands to hide her blush, "well … thanks. I'm sorry, though. That instead, you got to spend your New Year's fixing my car and listening to my relationship woes." She looked up and gave him a sincere smile.

"Well, it definitely beats driving home alone," Zuko responded honestly. "So, I kind of heard. Your grandma's party?"

Her gaze shifted away from him. "Yeah, it was actually for him, mostly, so she could meet him … I guess it's good this way, though. He sounds pretty hammered."

"I'm sorry," Zuko said sincerely.

"It's not a big deal," she lied, keeping her gaze to the ground at his right. She sighed before she finally met his eyes. "It isn't the first time, though. He actually does this a lot. He just doesn't care, I guess."

"I'm sure he —"

"This is gonna sound weird," Zuko was glad she interrupted. He didn't want to make excuses for the pathetic man she called a boyfriend. "But if you're not doing anything else tonight, would you maybe like to come? To my grandma's party?"

Zuko gazed down at her and smiled shyly. He wasn't expecting to be asked to a party when he was simply being a good Samaritan. "That actually sounds lovely, but I promised my uncle I'd make it home in time to help him clean up after his party."

"That's really too bad," Katara sighed. She mentally kicked herself. Why would a stranger want to go to some random party where he knew no one?

"I'll take a rain check, though?" Zuko asked, hopeful. "Maybe we could get lunch or something?"

"Yeah. That sounds nice." She pulled out her phone and unlocked the screen. "Give me your number, and I'll give you a call sometime."

"Sure," Zuko smiled and pulled out his phone, too. "Here. You do the same. I don't normally answer when I don't recognize the number."

They exchanged numbers and passed their phones back to each other. Katara smiled down at his name in her contacts list. Zuko Sozin. It had a nice ring to it. "Thanks again for helping me out today. You really didn't have to, and I'm sure I've made you late to help out your uncle."

"It was really no trouble," Zuko smiled. "I'll see you around?"

"Definitely." Katara shook his hand once more before getting into her car.

"Definitely," Zuko echoed before retreating to his own car. His phone buzzed, and he smiled when he read the name.

**Katara Waska: Enjoy the rest of your night. Happy New Year, Zuko.**

Katara slowly peeled out of her parking spot and carefully headed to her grandmother's house. By now, the party was probably over, and all she needed to do was clean up. She had put her phone completely on silent after texting Zuko. She didn't want to receive a text from Jet that would inevitably kill her good mood, but the message never came.

Upon arriving home, she greeted her grandmother and grandfather before quickly picking up the few pieces of rubbish strewn throughout the living room. Once she was satisfied that the living room would just need a quick vacuuming in the morning, she moved on to the kitchen to take over the dishes for Gran-gran.

"How was your party, my dear?" Kanna asked as she wiped her hands dry.

"It was fun while I was there," Katara said.

"And Jet?" Kanna asked slyly.

"His ride left him at a house party, so he couldn't meet up with me," the younger woman answered with a small frown.

Kanna picked up that Katara didn't want to continue talking about the man she called her boyfriend and patted her granddaughter on the back. "Pakku and I are going to get some rest now. Sleep well, my dear."

Katara nodded as she continued washing the few remaining dishes. She'd put them away in the morning. "Good night, grangran."

She didn't get to bed until just after 2 a.m. When she plugged her phone in to charge overnight, she realized she had a new message.

**Zuko Sozin: You, too. Happy New Year, Ms. Waska.**

Katara smiled to herself and was about to text back before her brother walked in.

"So, what happened to Jet?" He didn't ask to be mean, but Sokka had warned Katara that Jet wasn't a good guy. He was Sokka's age, and he never rubbed her older brother the right way.

"He got stuck at a party. He said Hahn had left him behind." Katara sat on the edge of her bed and pulled her hair into a loose ponytail.

"Little sister, I really think it's time for you to stop giving that guy second chances. These past six months, he's shown that he won't change," Sokka said as if stating a fact.

"I guess," Katara breathed. "It's just hard. I really thought he would keep being as attentive once we started dating. You remember how long he sought after me."

"Yeah, but to him, it's all about the chase. Once a girl gives in, he loses complete interest in her." As always, Sokka was just honest. He sat next to her on the bed and slung an arm around her shoulder. "I wouldn't get too hung up on him. He obviously doesn't deserve you."

"I'll give it another week. If by then he still doesn't show as much interest in me as before, I'll cut him loose."

"Atta girl," Sokka gave her a soft noogie. "By the way, dad called while you were out. He said he took up an extra shift at the fire station, so we won't see him until later … today, I guess."

"Figures," Katara yawned. "Well, I guess there's no use in staying up anymore. I'll see you for our annual leftover extravaganza."

"You bet," Sokka grinned and left her room. "Night, little sis," he called as he turned out the light and closed the door.

"Night," she called after him as she lay down and pulled the covers over herself. She grabbed her phone and opened her messages again, sending Zuko one more text before setting the phone back down on the nightstand and drifting off to bed.

* * *

Zuko decided to leave his car in the driveway instead of parking in the garage once he saw the lights were off at home. His uncle must have ended the party just after the countdown. It didn't help that he always awoke at dawn. Late nights just weren't a Sozin thing, he guessed.

He carefully stepped inside and toed his shoes off, and walked into the living room then the kitchen, flicking on the lights as he went to survey the mess from the party. His uncle's friends were actually pretty good guests. There were only a few cans of soda and cups of tea here and there, so cleanup was a breeze.

As soon as he finished, he scribbled a note to his uncle, asking him to please not wake him early for breakfast. He then made his way upstairs, quickly got into bed, and immediately fell asleep.

When he awoke, Zuko grumbled to himself for not closing the blackout curtains. Unfortunately for him, any hint of light woke him up, and it was just after 7. As he turned over to face away from the window, the smell of bacon filled his nostrils. His stomach rumbled as his mouth started watering, and he groaned.

"So much for sleeping in today," he muttered as he sat up and wiped the sleep from his eyes. He slid out of bed, not bothering to make it just yet in hopes of getting more sleep after eating a quick breakfast. As he made his way downstairs, he could hear his uncle humming to himself and the sounds of sizzling bacon on the skillet.

"G'morning, uncle," Zuko greeted as he opened the fridge and grabbed the milk.

"Zuko, I thought you would sleep in today?" Iroh asked as he poured himself some tea before turning his attention back to the stove.

"I did, too," he mumbled in reply. "I forgot to close the curtains. You know how the light bothers me."

Iroh merely nodded as he pulled out an extra teacup for his nephew. "Would you like some toast and tea, nephew?"

"Yes," Zuko nodded. "Thank you, uncle." He poured himself a small glass of milk and chugged it before washing his glass and putting the milk back into the refrigerator. "I'm going to close my curtains and try to get some more sleep afterward. I slept maybe four hours last night."

"Ah, so the party you went to last night was fun?" His uncle asked, honestly interested in how Zuko had spent his evening.

"It wasn't really my kind of party," Zuko answered. "The music was too loud, and I didn't really feel like dancing."

"That's too bad," Iroh turned to shut the stove off and poured the tea into the cups.

"Maybe next time you go out, you can invite a pretty young woman to go with you so you will have a dance partner," Iroh commented serenely.

"Maybe," Zuko mumbled as he set the placemats at the kitchen bar so he and his uncle could eat. His thoughts began to fill with images of a brunet with deep blue eyes and a genuine smile on her face. He blinked, and his tea and toast seemed to have magically appeared in front of him.

Uncle and nephew ate in companionable silence, as Iroh could tell that Zuko really had not gotten enough sleep for a young man his age. When the older man saw his nephew had finished, he piped in to allow him to rest. "I can clean up, Zuko. Why don't you go upstairs and try to get more sleep?"

"Thank you, uncle," Zuko stood up, stretched, and left the kitchen to go back up to his room. He closed the curtains and pulled his phone out to make sure it was on silent and saw another message from Katara.

**Katara Waska: Seriously, thank you so much for helping me out today.**

**Turns out you really saved my ass. My dad ended up working late**

**so he wouldn't have had the time to bail me out of my own ineptitude.**

**See you around the university. Lunch is on me if you ever want to hang.**

Zuko smiled at his phone and breathed a sigh of relief that Katara really seemed interested in still conversing with him. He clicked the lock button on his phone with a promise to text her back when he woke up and somehow managed to get some sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave comments and any suggestions to improve my writing. I haven't written fanfiction in YEARS.


End file.
